Worldwide reactions to the election of François Hollande

Foreign bloggers react to François Hollande’s election in France. The English national football team manager is widely mocked. And Harvard and the MIT offer free, online classes.

Worldwide reactions to the election of François Hollande

“A disaster for Europe”; this is how British blogger, John Ward regards the election of socialist, François Hollande as French president. John, a former local politician considers that the left’s arrival to power will hasten the end of the Euro and engender a political crisis on a European level for which Great Britain should be prepared.

The choice of the French people should therefore have a decisive influence on the EU’s destiny. This is also the opinion of Kemal Derviş. In an article published on the site of the Brookings Institute of Washington, the economist believes that France’s refusal of austerity as a solution to the crisis could inspire other member states and encourage Europe to reinvent its social model.

Meanwhile, Beninese journalist, Marcus Boni Teiga hopes that the Hollande presidency will open a new chapter in Franco-African relations. In this article published on the Slate Afrique site, he asserts that the black continent has been stigmatised over the last five years regarding questions such as immigration. And he expects the new French President to work towards respect for democracy, justice and human rights in Africa.

On his blog, Chinese reporter, Zheng Ruolin also questions the Elysee’s future foreign policy, a theme which in his eyes, was very little touched upon during the campaign. He considers François Hollande to have little experience in the field and does not think therefore that he will bring in any sweeping changes, even if, in his opinion, the new President could soon make symbolic decisions, such as the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan.

Now trending on social networks

The new French President’s name is also one of the most discussed subjects on social networks by French net users, since the announcement of his election on Sunday evening. And although many French people welcome the socialist candidate’s victory, and are eager to see the official transfer of power on May 15, some web users wonder nevertheless about the policies the head of state will adopt in the future. Questions touching upon varied subjects such as digital technology in France, management of the crisis or the name of the future Prime Minister, offering insights regarding some of the projects awaiting François Hollande.

England: web users and media mock Roy Hodgson

The new English football team boss, Roy Hodgson, has been the subject of jibes since the official announcement of his nomination last week. Jokes about his speech impediments and his physique which are generating strong reactions online.

The British daily paper “The Sun” was one of the first to openly mock the English manager by publishing on its cover last Tuesday, a fake quote by the English manager, altered to remind readers that he speaks with a lisp. A headline which was quick to ruffle feathers on the local web, with many net users considering it to be inappropriate. For many of them, the results Hodgson obtained as boss of various teams that he trained during his career, prove he deserves more respect and that in any case a simple speech impediment should not be focused upon.

To express their disapproval of this headline which they consider cruel and to offer their support to the new manager, English net users are also urged to use the key words, “I support Roy” on Twitter. The aim being to show that the majority of football fans are behind the national team’s coach.

A debate which has not prevented some jokers from continuing their online attack against Roy Hodgson. After mocking his speech impediment, web users enjoyed comparing the manager’s supposed physique to an owl. Many photo-montages and other drawings such as these, comparing Hodgson to a bird quickly appeared on the web and were widely diffused by English net users.

Harvard and MIT offer free online classes

Two of America’s most prestigious universities are soon to offer free online classes. Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have forged a 60 million dollar partnership to develop edX, an online learning platform. A site offering videos, discussion forums and virtual laboratories to registered net users. The first classes should be given from September and other universities are invited to jump on board.

Video of the day

CDZA, a trio of musicians offer this video baptised, “History of Whistling” a surprising retrospective of 100 years of whistle music. Twenty six well known pieces are performed by the three artists in just over three minutes and offer net users a veritable musical experience.